Employer Appreciation Day

At the start of summer vacation, we schlepped the kids into the mini-van and embarked on a drive across the plains to Colorado. Our purpose was twofold: 1. Drive twelve hours with three children as a sort of social experiment, to see if any, all, or some would survive and 2. Visit friends, mountains, and colleagues, not necessarily in that order. Mission accomplished on all fronts! I’m happy to report every member of the family did very well, even Baby Thea, who was valiant through the travails of cutting FOUR TEETH at once. We saw friends we love, rode horses in the mountains, visited dear family, and got scared by sharks at the Denver Aquarium. But might I just take a moment to mention that I got the chance to prove to my children that I have a real job? I did. And it was very gratifying.

When Act Two released last spring, a box full of books came to our front door. Marc, ever the enlightened partner of the 21^st century, made a heroic effort of impressing upon Ani and Mitch the importance of the moment. “Guys! Look! Your mom wrote this book! This is her photo on the back! She’s written three books, kids! Can you believe it?!” He was jumping up and down, running in circles around the family room. Such a trooper, that one.

Ana’s response: “Dad, it’s really not that big of a deal.”

If only I could have been wearing SEQUINS in the photo, or if the book had been hot pink with sparkles flying out of its pages, or if there’d been a singing doll that came with. But just a boring, old, wordy, non-illustrated book? Puh-lease.

So in order to prove to my children that Mommy is not making up her “books” or her “writing” or her “career,” I took these pictures. In case you, like them, have been doubting whether or not I’m actually printing my books, one by one, in my basement, I offer this evidence:

Real, brick-and-mortar building, home of David C. Cook. It even has a fountain in the front yard. Fan-cay.

Vice prez of publishing, Don Pape (he’s Canadian, which explains why he has cool glasses and an overall mellow demeanor), me (with alarmingly strange hair) and Editorial Head Honcho, Terry Behimer, who took me to lunch at a great restaurant and made me drink lots of water to get rid of an altitude headache.

See? Real people, real building, real job. So there, Ani. Proof is in the blogging. Now, if I’d only worn a feather boa and glitter paint to the office…